switching Oly 9-18 for Pana 7-14 worth it?

How many of you have had both what did you like / not like? Here is my take. I would have long ago bought the pana 7-14 for its constant aperture AND really WIDE angle capability. BUT since it didn't take a filter mainly ND or Polarizer I shyed away from it and bought the Oly 9-18 instead. A good lens especially on my old E-M5 body. But I was never a fan of the collapsable design plus the aperture is not constant. Mainly sometimes I find myself cramped in ruins where the 9mm is not quite wide enough.
Now that I shoot the E-M1 I'm thinking to switch to a more Pro like ultra wide. But can't make up my mind. Anyone has used both what did you find as pros and cons why stick with one over the other? Thanks for any guidance.

I'm waiting until 2015 for the new Pro UWA from Olympus. The current lenses are good but I feel that they tried to balance price with performance with more of a concentration on price. For what they are, they are pretty good lenses when compared to other UWA zooms on the market for other systems. I just feel that the new UWA zoom from. Olympus will be much higher performing. If you're finding yourself all the way out at 9mm with the Olympus and feel you need wider, then the 7-14mm will be great but that's only if you need the lens for now.

...waiting until 2015 for the new Pro UWA from Olympus. The current lenses are good but I feel that they tried to balance price with performance with more of a concentration on price. For what they are, they are pretty good lenses when compared to other UWA zooms on the market for other systems. I just feel that the new UWA zoom from. Olympus will be much higher performing. If you're finding yourself all the way out at 9mm with the Olympus and feel you need wider, then the 7-14mm will be great but that's only if you need the lens for now.

I don't really think it is worth it. I have a lot of problems with flare with Olympus bodies (E-M5 and E-M1). Any bright light will give you purple blotches on the images. It is not a fun lens to use for me. I thought about selling mine since I barely use it.

I had the 9-18, sold it and bought the 7-14. The 9-18 just wasn't wide enough for some shots of ruins, churches, etc. You can't shoot into a light source with the 7-14, that's true. But it's enabled me to make many shots I otherwise wouldn't have been able to do. It's also a bit faster and IMHO a bit sharper than the 9-18.

I use only two filters: a circular polarizer and a graduated ND. The first IMO doesn't work well with UWA lenses. I use the second for some landscapes and I don't usually use an UWA lens unless I'm doing something low angle with an object in the foreground. So the lack of filter capacity with the 7-14 has never been a problem for me.

If you don't need it right away, the new Olympus UWA might be worth considering. I may sell my 7-14 and get that new lens if it isn't too bog and/or too expensive.

I didn't use the m4/3 9-18 because I previously had that lens on the 4/3 system and ended switching to the 4/3 7-14mm. When moving to m4/3 the Panasonic was my choice.

The Panasonic 7-14mm lens is an excellent lens. I've jury rigged a filter setup and use that or simply handhold the filters in front to the lens. The purple lens flare has only cost me two images I wanted to use out of 3,000+ I have taken with the lens. Just out of curiosity I just check to see how many photos I've taken at 7-8mm and there over 1,000.

Here is a test photo that shows shooting directly into a light source does not necessary produce unusable images.{}

The lens is sharp across the frame at f4 but it does flare quite badly when you have the sun or any strong light in the frame i.e. in a backlit situation. I've considered switching to the 9-18 because of this but that went out the window when Olympus announced that they will be releasing a 7-14/2.8 in 2015. I will therefore probably hold on to this lens until the Olympus version becomes available.

I'm tempted to get the Panasonic 7-14mm myself, since I havent got any ultra wide lens in my bag yet =P. But since I hear Oly 7-14mm is coming out within a year, I held off and save it til then. Plus I have read reviews that Panasonic 7-14mm suffered from some minor problems, so it's a pass right now.

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